Means for protecting packed merchandise



May 7, 1957 Filed R. E.- PAIGE 2,791,369

MEANS FOR PROTECTING PACKED MERCHANDISE July 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 T 1 fg F |G.4

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E Flea INVENTOR ATTORNEY May 7, 1957 R. E. PAIGE MEANS FOR PROTECTINGl PACKED MERCHANDISE Filed July 12, 1954 `2 sheets-sheet 2 FIG.6

8 7. L -Iill I- No [7 G F 2 2 ----||rl INVETOR cizard E. fbmge nited States MEANS FOR PROTECTING PACKED MERCHANDISE My invention is an improved means for protecting packed merchandise; and relates particularly to the in terior packaging of various articles by members to be disposed in boxes and cases, and constructed so as to prevent breaking and other damage when the merchandise is in storage or moved for delivery, or in transit.

The` invention is practiced chiefly with corrugated cardboard and is based upon the fact that the mass of such boardv is only from one-third to one-sixth solid; the remainder of the board being hollow, because of the presence of corrugations or flutes between the two outer layers of the board. Corrugated board always comprises two sheets or layers of material joined by a sheet that has corrugations.

Solid cardboard or similar sheet material, when bent into double layers will rip if the layers are forced too close together. The folding of three of four layers of cardboard having a thickness of an eighth or quarter inch upon one another can only be satisfactorily accomplished if each layer is structurally independent, to some extent, of the next; but' if solid cardboard is bent as above stated, all but the innermost layer will tear or break apart.

In contrast, corrugated board can be folded and doubled in multiple, intergral layers, because one or both outer layers can remain unbroken, the inner corrugations will be flattened, and the inside spaces or cells closed; also' the inside corrugationsv will be compressed at, the junction lines of the folds and the thickness of the board is thus reduced at saidlines.

This property of corrugated' boardI makes possible a dependable, uniform, pre-ascertainable distortion; according to a novel and most useful principle by which sheet material can be manipulatedto afford new results.

Commercially this invention covers a highly advantageous method of packing, by which merchandise is cushionedV in' only those special areas where protection is required. By methods` heretofore utilized large areas of interior packing must be provided just to cushion relatively small areas where cushioning is really needed'.

A further advantage of: this invention is very important. If ordinary solid cardboardl is bent into a channel with three equal hingedl-'y-conneeted rectangular sides or panels, and a thick, narrow band or collar is attached around its outer face at one end, and a similar band or collar is attached around its inner face at they other end, such a structure would lit i'nto a square shipping box in.v such a way that only the outer' band would touch'` the wall: of the box'. The rest ofv the channel would not make contact with. the boxv wall, or be supported by it.

But with corrugated cardboard such` a channel with inner and outer collars or bands asl described can: be produced from a single piece inV such a manner that both the outer bands and nearly thezwhole of the remaining outside surface of the channel itself will be. atthrough out and lie against the inside. of the shipping box.

This is because the corrugationsin the cardboardare i attent 2,791,369 Patented May 7, 1957 ICC means and a processfor the purposes by taking advantage of resilient properties which are inherent inv Special sheet material, such as corrguated cardboard, andwhich will afford excellent cushioningk action when such material is given a` form required by the effect that is to be ob-A tained.

Another important object is, to provide means and a process which is adapted to producel the result aforesaid, and which will conform to objects having ends that are unequal in thickness, in such fashion that said objects when fully enveloped by protecting and cushioning material, can be snugly fitted into ordinary casings or receptacles having lateral faces with parallel opposite edges.

Other objects and the advantages of my Iinvention are made clear in the following description and the claims define the characteristics thereof. The drawings illustrate the best form of the invention now known tome, but variations innumerous minor respects may be adoptedA without departure from the general` design and mode of proceeding in which the invention resides.

On said drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a board to be used forV my invention.

Figure 2 shows in side elevation a cushioning member produced by meansl of the last-named board.

Figure 3 is an end View of said member, shown diagrammatically.

Figure 3a shows solid cardboard bent doubled and torn. v

Figure 4 is a sectional detail of said member, the section being line 4 4 in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is` a section on line 5 5 in Figure 2, showing the corner.

Figure 6 is a plan view of an additional board in readiness to be shaped for the purposes of this inventionA Figure 7 shows a cushioningmember in the form of a sleeve produced from the board of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a sectional view through a corner of the last-namedmember on line 8-8 in Figure 7, and

Figures 9 and 10 are opposite endviews of the member shown on Figure 7.

A piece. of corrugated cardboard can in the practice of this invention be made. up in the form, of aA completely enveloping sleevey with cushioning portions at each. This is illustrated on Figures l to 4 inclusive.. A sheet of corrugated' board 1 with its tlutings or pleats 3 between the outer layers or sheets 2a and 2b has score lines 17 extending inthe same direction as the corrugations, andv isv cut and scored at each endY on. both layers along lines 1I, 12, and 13. For the sectionV 16 farthest from each end the one layer 2a is cut completely through at 1.3 and in the same place atransverse score line is impressed in the other layer 2b. See Figure 4. For the next section 15 the layer 2b is. cut through: alongthe line 12 and a score line isimpressed in the same place in the layer 2n. The terminal section 14 is markedv off by the cut 11 in the first layer 2a and another score line opposite in the layer 2b. Each` line 11 and i3 on top in Figure 1 is therefore a cut line and: the line 12 is a score line. Beneath them each line under 12v is a cut line and the lines under lines 11 and, f3 are score lines. The board 1 is first bent. along the linesY 1'1, i2 and 13, so as to superpose the transverse sectionsl 14, 1S and 16 upon one another at. the ends of. the cardboard piece 1. The board is then bent upward with reference to Figure 1 along the lines 17 into a rectangular tube 18, closed on allsides, with ends open and surrounded at the ends with outside collars or anges 19; each collar containing three layers of superposed corrugations between brous layers which are portions of the outer layers or sheets 2a and 2b on both faces of the board 1. The lines 17 can be spaced so as to form the tube square in cross section as displayed in Figure 3, or rectangular or with any other outline. The corrugations in collars 19 are uncompressed except at the corners where the anges are bent. There the corrugations are crowded together and thinned or attened as indicated on Figure 5. This view shows only two transverse sections 15 and 16 superposed and bent, but the compression of the corrugations is clearly illustrated with two sections as fully as with more of such sections folded together and bent at the necessary angle. Figures 3 and 4 are diagrammatic, but fully reveal the construction, though in outline only.

This form of cushioning member is all in one piece and is well adapted to protect articles with fragile sides and little or no liability to sustain damage at the ends.

The width of the sides can be so adjusted by the positions of the lines 17 that the bent and superposed portions will overlap at the ends of the collars 19, as indicated at the upper right corner on Figure 3.

With the side collars 19, each consisting of several layers of corrugated board as indicated in Figure 2, the inside area adjacent the middle of the sleeve 18 will be the same as the outside girth of the collars 19. Hence the sleeve bulges between the collars 19 at the ends. This is due to the fact that the single layer of cardboard adjacent the middle of the sleeve will be straight and tlat on all sides of the sleeve, but the outermost layers in the collars will not stretch and the inner layers will be crowded and compressed at the corners as shown in Figure 5, and these inner layers of the collars will be bent or flexed so as to present faces that are convex toward the interior of the sleeve, and the length of each section of the collars between the corners measured in a straight line will be less than the total length of the section because each section or layer is no longer straight but bowed or sprung toward the inside of the sleeve 18. Under the collars the sides of the sleeve at the ends, each consisting of a single layer of corrugated board, will likewise be bent or sprung to an extent somewhat greater than even the innermost layers of the collars 19, but between the collars 19 the four sides of the sleeve will be straight and flat, and this fact makes the outside girth of the sleeve 18 at the mid-portion the same as the outside girth of the collars 19.

Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, and l inclusive disclose how a further and very important structure can be produced by means of a sleeve 18 with similar collars at its ends. ln Figure 6 the piece of corrugated cardboard 1" has lines 20, parallel with the corrugations at the places along which the board is to be bent up, marking off sections or side areas 21 of the desired width. At one end the board has cross cuts and score lines 12 and 13 on both faces, so located that portions can be folded over on the upper face of the board, as in Figure 4 to make cushioning parts and 16', which, when the board 1 is bent up with reference to Figure 6, along the lines 20, will make a collar 22 encircling the outside of the sleeve. At the opposite end the board will have cross cuts and score lines 11, 12 and 13 on both faces so located in the two outer layers or sheets 2a and 2b that the portions marked Off can be folded over on the upper face of the board into three cushioningV parts 14, 15 and 16', as in Figure 4. Therefore when with these cushioning parts superposed, the board is bent into a square or rectangular sleeve or tube, said last-named portions are within the tube and the inside of said opposite end is lined with a cushioning collar 23, which is thicker than the outside collar 22.

This construction gives a sleeve with girth around the 4 outside of the collar 22 equal to the outside girth at the opposite end, but the girth within the collar 23 is less than the inside girth of the sleeve at the end bearing the collar 22. See Figures 9 and l0. With such a sleeve an article with one end larger than the other can be enveloped and inserted into an ordinary rectangular box and tit it t snugly, as with the sleeve 18 having outside collar 19 at each of its ends.

This is due to the fact that the outer sheets or layers of the board covering the corrugations cannot be stretched and made wider or longer in any direction, particularly across the lines 20 or along the lines 11, 12 and 13. Therefore when the sleeve of Figure 7 is given its final shape, the portions of the board that are outermost in the external collar 22 do not become any longer. But the portions of all the layers under the outermost are bent or sprung somewhat convex to bulge inward as indicated in Figure 5. The last-named portions retain their overall length, but they are all shorter along a straight line because they are bent at the corners of the sleeve 18'; and the area enclosed by the sleeve at this end is contracted and diminished.

Likewise when the board is bent at the other end along the lines 11, 12 and 13 and along the lines 20 into a tube the outer layers cannot stretch, but the portions of the outer layers in the collar 23 farther in must bend or spring and be somewhat convex, or bulge inward, especially at the four corners as illustrated in Figure 8. The over-all length of each such portion remains the same, but t'his length, measured along a straight line, is lessened. Since the inner collar 23 at one end has three superposed sections and the outer collar 22 only two, the innermost portions of the layer covering the corrugations of the inner collar will enclose a smaller' area than the layers within the external collar 22 at the other end. Hence the area surrounded by the internal collar 23 is smaller than the area of the space in the other end of the sleeve. But the full width flattened of the sides 21 of the sleeve, at the end having the inside collar 22, will be the same as the width at the opposite end having the external collar 23. Hence this sleeve will fit snugly into an ordinary rectangular box as above stated for the purpose already described, as indicated on Figures 9 and 10 and by the dashed lines 24 on Figure 7. Each side of course is of constant width.

The effect will be the same if the two collars at the ends lhave the same number of layers in eac'h. The structural features of the member shown in Figure 7 are of course exaggerated and the dimensions are not presented in their true proportions, for the sake of clearness.

Figure 3a indicates how solid cardboard could not be employed in my invention. Such board is made with two thin outer layers and a solid hard filling between them. If bent double the layers 0n one side would be broken. It could not be bent as in Figure 4 to give any cushioning effect.

Figures 6 to 10 inclusive illustrate fully how a protective member having the form of a channel open at the ends, with inside and outside collars, can be made. The cardboard would then be bent parallel to the corrugations so as to present three lateral faces instead of four, and in some instances a cushioning member that has the shape of a channel might be preferable. With either a channel or a sleeve of four or more sides, the end having the collar outside would be smaller inside than the full size inside at the other end but larger than the area enclosed by the inside collar at said other end. The outside collar would constrict the sides of the member near the outside collar, but the greater part of the outside surfaces of the sleeve or channel could have actual contact with the inside of a rectangular case or box, as indicated on Figure 7 at 24.

The cardboard can be shaped to give the results above described without cutting the outer layers at all. The

lines 11, 12, 14, 17 and 20 could all be score lines, if preferred.

Another great advantage of a protective packaging member having the forms herein set forth is that the members can be used for display purposes after the articles are unpacked. Heretofore display cards with advertising matter had to be made separately at considerable extra expense, and often could be supplied to large distributers only. But with my invention the cushioning members which have to be used for each packed article, can be finished with attractive pictures and other designs, and set up adjacent the article when and where it is put on sale. For example the member shown on Figure 1 can have display material on either face and be placed on a side edge with the sections 1.4, 15 and 16 vertical and partly distended to support the member in upright position. Thus both small and large retailers can be furnished with an attractive display card at no extra cost and the sales enhanced.

In the foregoing detailed description of my invention, corrugated cardboard with long hollow spaces or air cells, due to the inside corrugations, is emphasized. But obviously exible sheet material with cells or hollows of a 4diterent shape could be employed in my invention, and bent so that the compressible portions due to the cells or hollow spaces would form resilient portions fully capable of use for the same purposes.

It is also apparent that by varying the number of layers in the collars at the ends of the sleeves 18 and 18' shown on Figures 2 and 7, I can make either end smaller inside than the opposite end, and the constricting etect of the superposed layers can be adjusted according to the article to be protected,

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new is:

1. A protective sleeve-like member of sheet material having two outer layers and parallel corrugations between said layers, said member having open ends and sections bent to form sides with edges parallel to said corrugations, and transverse portions at one end of said member containing parts of said corrugations and bent to lie crosswise of said sides and folded against the inside of said member to form a cushioning collar therein, each transverse portion being cut free along one edge from one of said layers, and united to the other layer, the corrugations in said collar being compressed at the junctions of said sides, and uncompressed between said junctions, the layers of said member within the collar bulging inward and constricting the inside area of the open end surrounded by said collar, said member also having a collar of the same construction at the opposite end, with compressed corrugations at said junctions and layers bulging inward between said junctions, and the outside girth of said member at said opposite end being substan- 6 tially equal to the outside girth of said member at the end having the first-named collar.

2. A protective sleeve-like member of sheet material having two outer layers and parallel corrugations between said layers, said member having open ends and sections bent to form sides of constant width with edges parallel to said corrugations, and transverse portions at both ends, containing parts of said corrugations and bent to lie crosswise of said sides and folded against said member to form cushioning collars at both ends, each transverse portion being cut free along one edge from one of said layers, and united to the other layer, one of said collars being on the outside of said member, and the other on the inside, the corrugations in said collars and said sides being compressed at the junctions only of said sides, and uncompressed between said junctions, the layers of said member within each collar bulging inward and constricting the inside area of each end, and causing the area enclosed by the collar inside to be smaller than the inside area of said member at the opposite end, the outside grith of said member adjacent the inside collar being substantially equal to the outside grith of the member around the other collar.

3. A protective sleeve-iike member of sheet material having two outer layers and parallel corrugations between said layers, said member having open ends and sections bent to form sides with edges parallel to said corrugations, and transverse portions at one end of said member containing parts of said corrugations, and bent to lie crosswise of said sides and folded against the outside of said member to form a cushioning collar thereon, each transverse portion being cut free along one edge from one of said layers, and united to the other layer, the corrugations in said collar being compressed at the junctions of said sides, and uncompressed between said junctions, the layers of said member within the collar bulging inward and constricting the inside area of the open end surrounded by said collar, said member also having a collar of the same construction at the opposite end, with compressed corrugations at said junctions and layers bulging inward between said junctions, the outside girth of said first named collar being substantially equal to the outside grith of said member at the opposite end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 622,715 Scheufler Apr. 11, 1899 1,132,292 Weiss Mar. 16, 1915 1,132,293 Weiss Mar. 16, 1915 1,550,646 Larson Aug. 18, 1925 1,795,613 Moehle Mar. 10, 1931 2,005,027 Ellsworth June 18, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS /31 Australia Feb. 8, 1932 

